“Of course. I’m always ready for adventure.”
His chest swelled with pride. Vivianne was walking into Tribe territory with no credit, no allies, no friends. Yet he saw no fear in her eyes, just anticipation and the knowledge she would do what must be done.
She’d never looked more beautiful. Without makeup, her hair falling loosely about her shoulders, she walked beside him, her head high, her shoulders squared, ready to face whatever came at them next.
Jordan hoped he could keep it together. He didn’t want to let her down. He didn’t want to let Earth down.
The first test came as they entered the transfer station. People bought tickets and lined up for the ride to Pentar.
Vivianne whispered into his ear. “We don’t have credits to buy our tickets.”
He squeezed her hand. “Trust me.” He walked up to the ticket counter. Jordan pressed their identity cards in a slot. Then one quick mind swipe and Jordan changed the clerk’s vision, so that instead of the blank piece of paper Jordan handed him, the clerk saw a hundred-credit note. It was surprisingly easy. Without hesitation, the clerk placed the paper in his cash drawer and handed them two tickets and a handful of change.
Jordan hurried her from the ticket booth. He had no idea how long the effect would last. For all he knew the clerk could look down, realize the paper was blank, and call security guards.
Vivianne’s eyes grew wide, but she said nothing until they’d joined a large group in a snaking line. “How did you—”
“I don’t know.” How could he explain? Placing the keys into the Staff had changed him on a fundamental level. Although he wasn’t reading minds, he could hear background noise; a steady hum of thoughts overflowing, hunger, the need for sex, fear. Men worried about their work. Women worried about their children. He shut down before the thoughts overwhelmed him.
“That wasn’t hypnosis, was it?” she asked, peering at him.
“It’s a form of mind control.”
“Can you do that to more than one person at a time? How long can you sustain it? Can you make someone think I’m their best friend?”
“All good questions, but I’m afraid I don’t have any answers.”
“Do you have a plan to get answers?”
“I’ll figure it out as I go along.”
Despite security and cameras everywhere, the ride down to Pentar was uneventful. No different than riding in a crowded passenger airplane. Without enduring the cold weather, they remained indoors and landed in an artificial crater, before taking a magnetic levitation train into the city. So far no one seemed the least interested in them, but every time they swiped their identity cards, a computer was tracking them.
Jordan wanted to get off the official grid, lose themselves in the city. The first opportunity he saw, he pulled her behind a power-maintenance unit. He unsheathed the Ancient Staff and did a quick three-hundred-sixty-degree spin.
Vivianne frowned. “No matter which way you turn, it’s not pulsing brighter.”
“I know.” He resheathed the Staff. “I was hoping it would help us find the Grail the same way it did the Keys, but it’s not working.”
Vivianne looked at him, her eyes worried. “So how do we find the Grail?”
Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly.
—LADY CAEL
32
This way.” Jordan took Vivianne’s hand and led her down a sidewalk. At first glance, the street scene seemed similar to a dozen cities on Earth—if she discounted the artificial sky overhead. Right now the artificial sun shined brightly, and she wondered if they ever programmed in rain, snow, or gusty wind.
She strode beside Jordan, who had shortened his stride to match the average citizen’s slower pace. “Where are we going?”
“To government headquarters.”
She asked, “Can you make them just tell us where the Grail’s kept?”
“No, but if they think about the Grail, I can track down the details.”
He sounded so certain. Was he reading the minds of passersby? “Suppose the military has the Grail?”
“It’s possible, but if they do, someone in the government will know that.”
Her stomach plummeted. Walking next to him, she’d never felt more exposed. Every time she saw security, every time they had to swipe their fake IDs to progress, she expected someone to stop them.
For all they knew, the Grail might not still be on Pentar. Their intel from Honor was months old and may not have been accurate to begin with. By now, the Tribes could have transported the Grail to the other end of the galaxy.
Still, she remained hopeful. Perhaps it was because at first these people didn’t seem that different from those at home. But as she really looked at this society, she saw many cruel aspects. Young girls forced to walk behind grown men. Children who didn’t smile or play. Men who didn’t look one another in the eye.
Everywhere, people went out of their way to give the security people wide berths. Fear permeated the air. The Tribes didn’t appear happy on their own planet. Apparently their leaders subjected their own people to the same domination as they did the rest of the galaxy.
Vivianne shuddered at the bleakness of their existence. They weren’t poor in things, but in spirit. There was no art, no graffiti, nothing but basic, drab design. It struck her as a world gone stale.
Vibrant Earth would not go flat and banal like this place, she vowed. As they caught a streetcar that ran on tracks and magnetic devices, then another train, she noticed that Jordan was very quiet. He hadn’t spoken in the last hour. While she understood he didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing their conversation, when she turned to look at him, his eyes didn’t focus on her.
It was as if his mind was missing, and an icy chill slid down her back.
She swayed nearer to him in the crowded vehicle that ran along the underground street, past dilapidated apartment buildings, gray storefronts, and windowless schools. “Jordan?”
He didn’t answer.
She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him. “Jordan?”
For a full minute, he didn’t move. Didn’t speak. A few people glanced at her, then looked away. If there was going to be trouble, they clearly wanted no part of it.
Come on, Jordan. Damn it, you’re scaring me.
“S’okay,” Jordan finally responded, his speech slightly slurred.
Was he responding to her shake of his shoulder? Her voice? Or her thoughts? She didn’t have time to ask. As the train slowed and motored into the station, he tugged her toward the door.
She kept her voice low. “I thought you said we were supposed to stay on this line another half hour.”
“Change of plans.” He sounded very sure of himself once again, and she had to hurry to keep up with him.
This railway platform was crowded with women pushing strollers, men carrying meal boxes, and several squads of security shoving past civilians who scurried to get out of their way. When they exited the station, they spilled into a somber cement square that was far from parklike. No greenery. No children flying kites or playing ball. No pets. Just people walking through, eyes downcast, heads bowed under the strain of Tribal life.
Jordan crossed the square and headed into a narrow alley that ran between apartment buildings. “We’ve picked up a tail.”
“Security?” she asked, matching her pace to his and forcing herself not to turn around.
“Trendonis’s friends.”
Jordan had thrown his powerful enemy’s name at traffic control to allay their suspicions. His ploy had worked. Trendonis’s name inspired fear. But apparently the man also had friends, who were now after them.
Her thoughts slid to a halt. The only way Jordan could know the tails’ alliances was if he were reading their minds.
While she was grateful he had a power that might aid them in staying safe long enough to find the Grail, she realized that living with a mind-reading Jordan would be more than difficult. She supposed she shoul
dn’t be worrying about that now. The chances of either of them living beyond this mission didn’t look good.
Especially as the alley dead-ended into a five-story stone wall. Jordan shoved her behind him and turned to face three dangerous-looking men running into the alley. The leader, a burly man with a black beard and blacker eyes, had pulled out a blaster and aimed at them.
Jordan stared at the man. She braced for death.
But the gunman didn’t pull the trigger. He didn’t change expression. He stood as still as stone.
“Boss?” One of his cohorts shook the leader.
“We’ll have to shoot them ourselves,” the other growled.
When Jordan stepped to one side, jerking her with him, the lead gunman remained totally motionless. However, his associates raised their weapons.
Jordan kicked the blaster from the nearest opponent’s hand. Still spinning, he back fisted the last guy in the temple and he dropped his weapon. As the man dived for the blaster, she kicked the weapon out of reach.
Jordan pounced and the men rolled. Jordan ended up on top, straddled the man’s chest, grabbed him by the throat, and glared. “What do you want from us, Gridon?”
“You know my name?” Gridon’s eyes widened in fear. He glanced from Jordan back to his cohort, who still stood frozen.
“I’m only going to ask once more. What do you want?”
“My boss wants to know who you are.”
Jordan slammed Gridon’s head against the pavement and knocked him out. While she retrieved the blaster, Jordan rifled the man’s pockets and stole his ID and credits.
“The frozen guy’s beginning to thaw,” she muttered uneasily.
Jordan slipped an arm around the leader’s throat, choked the man back into unconsciousness, then handed her his ID, too.
The entire fight had taken only seconds. Neither Jordan nor Vivianne had so much as broken a fingernail. Between Jordan’s fighting and mental skills, they might just stand a chance. Still, she was shivering, shaking.
“Come on.” Jordan held out his hand to her, his eyes bleak. “Security’s noted a disturbance in this sector. They’re on the way to investigate.”
“How far away are they?” she asked, taking his hand and jogging beside him.
“I’m not sure. All these buildings look the same to me.”
So he could see what Security saw? She stumbled, and he held her hand more tightly, preventing her from falling. Was he gaining new powers, or was he simply learning new facets of the powers he already had? She supposed it didn’t matter.
She held on to the belief that even though he was reading other minds, he was not in hers.
Jordan pulled her around a corner and slowed to a walk so their movements would blend in with the crowd. When she saw a restaurant, she jerked her thumb. “Why don’t we slip in there?”
“Good idea.” He opened the door for her, and they took a table in the back near the rear entrance.
They both ordered the “special,” the only meal the restaurant served. The food turned out to be surprisingly good. Dark bread sandwiched a concoction of marinated meat. She downed two glasses of energy water, surprised she could eat and drink when her nerves were so raw.
They didn’t speak. The other diners sat so close by, they could overhear any conversation. Besides, Jordan took on that “missing” look, which indicated he was mind scanning. Perhaps he’d luck out and get a bead on the Grail’s location.
As far as she was concerned, the sooner, the better. Between Trendonis’s enemies searching for them, and Security now after them, too, they were attracting attention. The last thing they needed was Trendonis himself to hear rumors and come after them again.
As she paid for the food, her stomach churned. She tugged at Jordan’s sleeve. “We should leave.”
He refocused more quickly this time. “We need to descend four more levels.”
Four levels? She already felt suffocated under just one floor of concrete. “Is there an elevator?”
“I’m not sure. It’s strange, but the knowledge of how to navigate between levels is not readily available among the general populace.” He ducked his head to speak into her ear. “But I picked up several hints that no one wants to live on a lower level. Where we are now is considered the height of luxury.”
If the poor sections were below, it was likely to be more dangerous. On the other hand, there might be less security. Either way, they had no choice.
She didn’t allow her concerns to show, but as he led her deeper into the city, her soul yearned to go back up to the surface, to the light. Traveling deeper into the bowels of this world reminded her of that cave on Arcturus.
“This way.” Jordan’s voice was threaded with excitement. “There’s a staircase that should take us down to the central government offices.”
“Do we need special IDs?” she asked.
“They have retinal scanners.”
She stopped walking. “We can’t fool the machines.”
Jordan slipped his arm around her. “People read those machines’ results.”
Uh-oh. Jordan had just revealed yet another new use for his skills. He could alter the minds of those who were in charge of the machines. The little hairs on her neck stood up. “What if the techs who read the machines aren’t nearby?”
“I’ve got it covered.”
Could Jordan trace the current all the way back to techs who monitored the system? Control them from a distance?
Sheesh. She really didn’t want to think about it. So instead, she focused on trying not to slow him down. He seemed certain they could pull off the theft of the Grail, and she refused to let fear freeze her.
She tried not to think about going into the bowels of the enemy world. Or being surrounded by the Tribes. Or never feeling the sun on her face again.
Choose your friends by their character and your engine fuel by its color.
—ANONYMOUS
33
Jordan’s mind kept expanding. At first he read only surface thoughts of those close by. But as he stretched the limits of his new ability, he realized he could listen in on people across the street, then down the block. It took a lot of effort, but he learned how to narrow or widen the focus. Dealing with all the extraneous thoughts complicated his search for information. A lady couldn’t recall where she put her keys. A man wanted to remember to call his wife to tell her he’d be home from work late, but from the images shot at Jordan, the man didn’t plan on working unless it was on top of his desk with his new secretary. Jordan picked up on others’ thoughts, their plans, desires, and emotions.
It was so easy to get lost in the myriad details, but eventually Jordan filtered out the extraneous thoughts and homed in on what he needed. Finally, he tuned out everything except clues about the Grail. But after listening hard, he learned nothing. So he focused on the location of the government offices. Surely someone in power would eventually lead them to the Grail.
He moved through the street as quickly as he dared. The artificial lighting down here made him feel like a bug under a magnifying glass. There were no shadows, no dark corners, no places to hide.
“Security’s questioning people back at the restaurant about us,” he warned her. “So once we reach a place to descend, be ready to move fast.”
“Got it.” At the mention of going deeper into the planet, fear radiated from her. He wasn’t reading her thoughts, because he knew she didn’t want him to, but from the tilt of her chin he saw she’d hold it together just as she had in the cave on Arcturus.
He spied a long silver wall with gleaming white marble floors. “We’re getting closer.”
Vivianne jerked her thumb and he saw the lift. Engineers inside a nearby tower employed null-grav devices to raise and lower a huge open platform. Very few people seemed to be using the platform, but a lighted billboard showed a schedule and that the lift was about to depart.
“Hurry.” Jordan broke into a run. He could feel Security closing in, see in his mi
nd that they’d just rounded a corner he and Vi had taken earlier.
He spied an elderly couple wearing straw hats and reached into his pocket and pulled out some credits. “We’d like to purchase your hats.”
The man looked at him as if he thought he was crazy, but he snatched the credits from Jordan and handed over the hats.
As disguises went, the hats weren’t great, but they had no time. They ran down a ramp and reached it just as a gate closed right in front of them.
Vivianne tried to push open the gate, but it was locked tight. “We’re too late.”
Jordan cupped his hands. “Climb over.”
Vi took once glance at Security rounding the corner, placed her foot into his hands, and scrambled over the gate. He jumped, clung, and scaled the fence, then dropped down the other side, where several citizens stared in disapproval.
Security started to climb the gate, too.
Jordan hurried her away from that end of the platform as the machinery on their left rumbled. Beside him, Vi’s knees buckled.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “Security didn’t make it. We’re going down.”
“That’s not reassuring, Jordan,” she muttered.
When the platform stopped, most people exited. Only a few got on. Then they dropped again. He expected the living conditions on each level to worsen—just like he’d been led to expect after reading the minds of the general populace. But the opposite happened.
“Each level seems more luxurious,” Vi noted, her eyes taking in the pristine white buildings at their current level. Each structure possessed stained-glass windows, blooming flowers, and sweeping lawns. By the time they reached the lowest level, the homes were mansions, the public buildings magnificent works of architecture. Fountains and sculptures decorated the landscape.
Vi peeked at him from beneath the brim of her hat. “It seems as if the Tribe government is deceiving its own citizens.”
“Just like governments everywhere. Why should Pentar be any different?”
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